


Taking Chances

by Meridian (Meri)



Series: Chances Series [2]
Category: Homicide: Life on the Street, The X-Files
Genre: AU, Crossover, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 1999-02-01
Updated: 1999-02-01
Packaged: 2017-10-11 22:39:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,602
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/117928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Meri/pseuds/Meridian
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Three months after Chance Meetings, Mulder and Tim's relationship is starting to get serious.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Taking Chances

**Author's Note:**

> **Disclaimer:** I don't own these guys, other people do. I'm just playing with them and promise to return them when I'm done.
> 
>  **Notes:** This is the second story in the Chances Series. This series has developed a mind of its own. There is at least one more story coming. (Maybe)
> 
>  **Note 2:** Thanks to my beta readers: Toni, Marcelle, and Teri V

Tim Bayliss woke to soft lips moving languidly across his back, and the sun shining brightly through Fox Mulder's bedroom window. Stretching, he reached back and caressed his lover's ass. The pleasure of last night's lovemaking still sang on his nerve endings.

As the lips moved lower, he shivered a little, trying to get comfortable. He'd been waiting for this moment with a mix of anticipation and dread. Mulder wanted to fuck him. For a while now, he'd known of his lover's desire, and had been waiting for the moment when Mulder would ask or do whatever he was doing that approximated asking.

If the mouth moving on his body was any indication, it looked like the moment had arrived. He owed Mulder this. For more than three months, he'd been fucking the other man -- time had come to pay the piper. And it wasn't as if it would be that bad, at least not judging by Mulder's reaction to it every time they did it. Maybe he'd enjoy it, probably he would.

"Okay?" Mulder asked, his big hand moving over Tim's ass, squeezing gently. "I want to."

"Okay." Tim slid fully onto his stomach, nerves tingling with fear and excitement, making him sweat. He didn't have to tell Mulder that he'd never done it before, they'd discussed that. But he wanted to say something, except there wasn't anything to say. _Be Gentle_ seemed a bit melodramatic at this point.

"Let's move to the sofa?"

Tim groaned. What was Mulder's fascination with that damned leather sofa, anyway? They made love on it more than they did the bed.

"Couldn't we do it here? It'll be more comfortable." Tim liked the idea of comfort since he was going to be the fuckee this time.

"Nah, Tim, I want to do you on it the first time."

With a huge sigh, he gave in. Pushing himself up, he held out his hand to his lover. "Come on, let's get this over with."

"Hey, are you okay with this?" Mulder pulled him into his strong arms, nuzzling his neck.

His lover spent an awful lot of time kissing and sucking on his neck. And if he didn't watch carefully, Mulder would leave a trail of marks on him that was damned embarrassing to explain on Monday morning. Frank had already seen marks twice and had teased him unmercifully. He didn't want to explain any more. "Yeah. I know. It's time for me to put out."

"Tim. If you're not comfortable with it, we can wait. It's not like I don't love being fucked." Mulder meant it, he could tell. Why was that such a surprise?

"No. It's okay. I need to do this. I want to." Which was true. He'd been waiting to be pushed into it. But he _did_ want to, if only to satisfy his curiosity about it.

"Come on," Mulder said, letting go of him and moving into the living room.

Tim followed. Looking down at the sofa, he wondered again how they could fit. A tendril of apprehension hit his belly as he laid down and spread his legs as wide as the couch would allow. God, he felt like a human sacrifice or something, waiting for the stiletto to slide into his heart. He snickered to himself, that wasn't where it was going to go.

Mulder sat between his thighs, petting his ass. "Hey. It will be okay. I won't hurt you."

"I know. I'm just..." He didn't like admitting fear to anyone.

Putting both hand on his hips, Mulder moved him until he was resting on the tops of his lover's thighs. The position was a bit awkward but it gave Mulder the access he would probably need to prepare him. And it did make sure Tim's cock wasn't crushed beneath him.

Running strong hands down his flanks, Mulder continued to caress the skin of his lower spine, bending forward to kiss the small of his back. Tim couldn't hold still as those soft lips started a new assault and he couldn't help pushing back against them. The pleasure seeped into all of his cells and he moaned softly.

A euphoria induced haze settled over him like it always did when Mulder worked his magic on his body. Those hands and mouth could evoke such sensations from him, Tim floated happily in the fog, letting it take him away from the worries of what might happen in a few moments. As the long fingers worked their way into him, Tim shifted his hips with the movements, loving the feel when Mulder hit his prostate. Elation tore through him.

His hips were lifted, and his buttocks parted, Tim was almost too far gone to really care, but as Mulder pushed into his body, the pleasure turned to pain abruptly, bringing him back to earth with a jolt. He whimpered as the pain intensified.

"Easy, lover," Mulder murmured, rubbing Tim's belly in broad circles and then moving a hand to stroke his wilting cock. Lacing their fingers together, Mulder held on tightly.

After a few moments of intense pain, the pleasure started to return slowly. Mulder began to move, and the fire intensified exponentially. Tim flew with it, climbing higher and higher until he reached the stars. The world exploded around him in a shower of lights and sparks and he went down in flames with it, glorying in the surrender of everything that he was to the force of ecstasy moving through him. He heard Mulder cry out, loud and joyful in his ears.

Before he could catch his breath or move, the door to Mulder's apartment burst open and a small, red-headed woman barged into the room with a gun pointed at them.

The world stopped on its axis and everything froze. If she wasn't Mulder's partner, then they both were dead meat because there was no way they were going to be able to do a damned thing. Tim watched her take in the situation and blush. Her gun came down.

"Uh... I heard a scream. I'm sorry. I thought..." she trailed off, blushing again, and looking away.

Mulder had the audacity to chuckle. The bastard was lying on top of him, still embedded in his body, with his partner staring at them and he finds this funny. Tim was not amused, not at all.

"It wasn't a scream of pain." Mulder's voice held such amusement, Tim was ready to kill him. Right after Scully left. He couldn't even think about moving now since he was more or less covered by Mulder.

Groaning, Tim buried his head in the arm of the sofa, he didn't want to deal with this. Oh, god why did these kinds of things always happen to him?

Scully started to back up, "I can see that."

"Give me ten minutes, I'll meet you outside."

She nodded and fled.

Kissing the back of his neck, Mulder gently pulled out of him and sat up. "Sorry about that. I forgot I said I'd go out to breakfast with her this morning, she and I have some information to go over on a case."

Tim didn't know what to say. This was probably the most mortifying thing that had ever happened to him and he couldn't think about how to deal with it. Sitting up, he winced. His back hurt. "Do you want me to leave?" Talk about nailed to the floor and then dumped. Well, maybe not dumped, but having to leave right now would hurt.

"No. I'll tell her we'll go over the information tomorrow, it's not that critical." Mulder kissed him, softly.

Pulling back, he looked right into those hazel eyes, annoyed by the bright amusement he found there. "What do you want me to do?"

"I'm just going to talk to her. I'll only be a few minutes. I promise."

"I think I'll go take shower."

Mulder pouted. "I wanted to share it with you."

"Too bad. I'm not going to wait. I'm all sweaty," He snapped, not caring that he'd hurt Mulder. Having this happen embarrassed the hell out of him and Mulder's nonchalance pissed him off even more. He wanted to retaliate, but looking at his lover, he felt awful that he'd been so thoughtless.

The hazel eyes declared he'd scored a direct hit. "In a hurry to wash me off you?" Mulder said the words too casually for the situation

Tim knew he'd really hurt the other man. "I'm sorry. I'm embarrassed. And I can't believe you found it funny."

Mulder's fingers touched his cheek softly, drawing his face close for a kiss. He let the kiss happen for a few beats, Mulder's soft mouth could convince him of anything.

Pulling back, Mulder smiled. "Come on, Tim. Where's your sense of humor? This is the kind of thing they write into bad movies. It doesn't happen to real people."

"Then why did it have to happen to us?" Tim whined, not wanting to see the amusement in the situation. It wasn't fair and he didn't think it was funny either.

"Bad luck." Mulder stood up and held out his hand. "Come on."

Standing, Tim put his hand into Mulder's, and pulled him close. "And it didn't give us anytime to kinda lie back and enjoy the aftermath, either."

"I know," Mulder said softly, kissing his mouth. "Did you at least like it?"

Smiling in remembrance of how incredible it was, well, until Mulder's partner did her impression of the QRT, Tim let himself be placated. "Yeah. I loved it."

"Good. Now, go take a shower, and I'll be back in a few moments, I promise." Mulder nipped his neck gently, and pulled away.

"Hon?" Tim called, a smile breaking on his lips.

"What?"

"I know she's already seen us, but put some clothes on before you go out to talk to her, okay?"

Mulder looked down at his naked self and smiled. "I always knew you were a smart guy."

* * *

Outside, the heat had just started to permeate the bricks and sidewalks. It was going to be a warm day. The bright morning sun seemed in direct contrast to the dark look Dana gave him as he approached her. She sat on the bottom step of his building, her arms wrapped around her legs.

Mulder sat down next to her, but didn't know where to start.

"This was not the way I would have preferred to meet your lover, Mulder." Her voice that had that cool quality that always let him know when she was not pleased with him. Not that he blamed her, he'd meant to call her when he found out Tim could make if for the weekend. But as soon as he'd seen Tim, all thoughts of breakfast with his partner went out of his head.

"I'm sorry. I meant to call, but..." He smiled at her, abashed.

She smirked slightly at him, and he knew he was going to get off easy for a change. "You forgot?"

"Yeah." He dropped her gaze.

"Are you okay?" Scully asked when they had sat in silence for a couple of moments.

Mulder nodded. "Yeah. I'm really sorry about this. I've been meaning to tell you about Tim, but..."

"Tim? That's his name? Who is he?" She seemed really curious, not that he expected her to be anything else, but her eyes lit with interest.

At least she didn't hate the idea of him involved with someone. In the time they had been partners neither of them had really been involved with anyone else. He'd had a series of one night stands over the years, but nothing else worth mentioning. And much to his chagrin, he had no idea what Scully's love life was like. Though he could guess it was a desolate as his before he met Tim.

Still, Mulder couldn't come up with that much to say about Tim. "He's a cop."

"A cop? In the District? Oh, please don't tell me you got involved with a DC cop?"

They worked with District cops. With both the federal and congressional work forces in Washington, the line between federal and local was a bit blurred. Only an X-file or a special request from local law enforcement would send them to Baltimore. "Almost as bad, Baltimore."

Scully paused for several beats as if she were trying to decide what to ask next. "Are you happy?"

The answer came more easily than he would have thought it would have, and that surprised him since he still had a lot of problems with thinking of his relationship with Tim as anything other than casual. "Yeah."

"That didn't sound enthusiastic." Scully could always hear the _but_ in his voice even when he didn't want her to.

"I like him." And he did. A lot. Almost more than he knew how to deal with.

"It's serious?"

That was a really good question, but one he didn't think he was ready to answer. It was far too soon for that sort of thing.

"It's only been a short time, I don't know yet. Maybe."

"Do you want it to be?" Another good question. Of course, Scully was a top investigator and trained to ask the right questions.

Shaking his head, Mulder had not idea what he wanted. "I don't know. I just know when I'm with him, the pain recedes a little. I feel almost human."

Scully smiled a little. "How does he feel?"

"I don't know."

"Do you talk to him?" Scully gave him a knowing look that said she knew what he and Tim had been doing instead of talking. Which was perfectly true. He and Tim could get so caught up in the excellent sex that nothing else seemed important. But it was, and Mulder was just starting to realize how important it might be.

He shrugged his shoulders and grinned at her. "Sometimes."

This time Scully laughed. "Talking is good too, Mulder."

"Yeah. About this morning..." He trailed off, hoping she wouldn't be too pissed at him about not working this weekend. He wanted to get back inside and talk to Tim. This whole incident seemed to have really upset his lover.

"You want to go over the Bradford information on Monday?"

"Please."

"Sure. It's not that critical"

"I'm sorry you had to come all the way down here."

"It's okay. It was educational," Scully said, getting to her feet and dusting off her pants.

"Scully!" Mulder tried to sound scandalized, but he was very glad she'd taken it all so well. She could have made all kinds of problems for him.

"Next time, Mulder, I'd like to meet him under slightly less extraordinary circumstances." Scully laughed again, walking away with a backward wave.

* * *

Fully dressed, his short hair still damp from his shower, Tim sat quietly on the sofa, folding and unfolding his hands. Something in the other man's eyes told him that Tim was still distressed by what happened. Mulder didn't understand why. It wasn't that big a deal. Why didn't Tim see that?

"What's wrong?" Mulder asked, standing in front of his lover.

"I think I should leave."

He didn't have to ask if Tim would be back. He knew that if he let the other man walk out the door now, he'd never see him again. And for some reason the thought filled him with dread, losing Tim would hurt badly. So he tried in the only way he knew how to get the other man to talk to him. He forced a smile onto his face. "What, you didn't like it that much?"

"Like what?" A bewildered look emerged on Tim's face. He did not get the joke, dumb though it was.

"Getting fucked."

"No. I told you before I loved it." A small smile touched the soft lips.

Well, at least he'd done something right. Meeting Tim's eyes, Mulder didn't like the hurt that he found there. "What's the problem?"

"What happened after is the problem!" Tim's voice rose and cracked.

Realizing how distressed his lover had to be, Mulder sat down next to him, putting his hand over Tim's. The situation really didn't warrant this much trauma. What was he missing? "You mean Scully? She's okay with it." Scully seeing them was embarrassing, but not fatally so. She'd actually seen him in much worse situations in the past.

"You really don't understand? Do you?"

"No. Tell me." Mulder shook his head, stilly thoroughly confused by Tim's reaction to what happened.

"You didn't even introduce me to her."

Mulder didn't know whether to laugh or cry. What should he have done, gotten up at that moment? That idea did not bear thinking about. "When exactly was I supposed to do that? I was lying on top of you."

"I remember where you were. But you sent her out and then went out to talk with her. Like you were embarrassed to have her here when I was here."

"I _was_ embarrassed. My partner just caught me in the throes of orgasm with my lover." Actually, embarrassment didn't even cover it, but it was also pretty amusing, too. He and Scully _would_ laugh about it later on, and he _knew_ she would never let him forget it, even though _she_ walked in on them. Would he and Tim laugh about it in the future? It didn't look like it now. The thought that there might not be a future with Tim frightened him on level he wasn't prepared explore.

"Why did you laugh?"

Mulder shook his head helplessly. "Because it was funny, too."

"That's just it. You laughed and then hustled her out. You were embarrassed by me."

Where had that come from? Sometimes things came out of Tim that really surprised Mulder, but even though he knew he should, he'd never really followed up on them. He was beginning to understand that had been a mistake. "No. By the situation, but not by you. I wanted to give you some privacy."

"You should have brought her back up to meet me." Tim's voice was small and hurt. Something more was going on here that he was missing. And for the life of him, Mulder had no idea how to find out what it was.

"Maybe you're right. But no one really knows about us. We've kept it pretty close to the chest. I mean, I haven't told anyone. Not that there's really anyone to tell except Scully."

Tim sighed and nodded. "I haven't told anyone either. Mostly because I didn't think it would last."

"Why not?" Mulder hadn't thought it would last either, but somehow for the three months they had been seeing each other things had gone pretty smoothly. He and Tim got along really well, accepting each other's quirky natures without a question and the sex had been so good. Thankfully, he'd only had to cancel a couple of times at the last moment. Being a cop with an equally erratic schedule, Tim had understood completely. They were well suited, almost frighteningly so.

"Because my relationships never last." There was way too much resignation in those words for Mulder's piece of mind.

But all he could do was agree. "Mine neither."

"Is that why you didn't introduce her?" God, Tim loved to harp on a subject.

"No! The reason I didn't is because I didn't think of it. I didn't think you'd want to meet her, I mean right then. If I'd known, I _would_ have introduced you. Hell, I should have stood up from the couch and stark naked and introduced you." There was one way to fix this problem. Standing quickly, Mulder marched over to the phone, snatching it from it's holder, he dialed Scully's number. She wouldn't be home yet, but he could leave a message and Tim would hear that. Maybe it would help.

"What are you doing?" Tim asked, folding his arms over his chest and looking annoyed.

"Calling Scully. I'm going to tell her to come back here so she can meet you."

"Mulder!" Tim was across the room in a second, grabbing the phone from his hand. "Dammit that's not what I'm talking about."

"What the fuck _are_ you talking about then? I thought you wanted to meet Scully. I have no objections. As a matter of fact, I think she'd get a kick out of it."

Tim snorted, setting the phone back in its charger. "I said that wasn't what I was talking about."

Mulder didn't have a clue what Tim meant. "Okay, what? Give me a hint."

Sighing, Tim sat down on one of the dining room chairs. "We aren't really part of each other's lives. We sort of exist in this weekend bubble."

Mulder nodded. He liked it that way. He needed his bubble. It got him through the rest of his life. "This is not a problem for me."

Looking up at him, Tim's eyes met his and Mulder could see the conflicting emotions in the light brown depths. "I think I need more," Tim whispered softly.

But Mulder didn't know how to give more than he had. None of his recent relationships ever got this far. "What do you want?"

"I don't know. I've never had a relationship like this before."

Mulder knew, Tim had only been with one other man, and he'd been a good friend, more than a lover. "It's almost like we're fuck buddies." As soon as he'd said the words, Mulder knew it was the wrong thing to say.

Tim's jaw tightened, his eyes flashing in annoyance, and his mouth turning down in a deep scowl of displeasure. "Except we really aren't buddies of any kind. I know next to nothing about you."

"What do you want to know?" There was a definite limit on how much he could tell his lover about his work. He did not want Tim endangered by knowing too much. And there was a certain cigarette smoking bastard out there who would see to it that anyone too close to him came to no good. He did not want Tim to end up dead like far to many of his and Scully's loved ones. It might be better if he gave Tim up, but he really didn't want to do that.

Shaking his head, Tim looked down at the table, tracing a finger through the dust. "I want to be more than a convenient fuck on the weekend."

"You're more than that now." He was coming to realize that Tim _did_ mean more to him than just sex, but just what that something was, he wasn't sure yet. But definitely more than a weekend fuck.

"No. I don't feel like I am." Looking up at him, Tim sighed, his face resigned, his body pulling away without moving.

Mulder had no idea what to do, how to communicate with Tim, to explain anything of the trauma and chaos that was his life. Mulder asked Tim to stay the only way he knew how: plainly. "I don't want you to leave."

Meeting Tim's eyes, he saw the sadness in them. There was probably a matching sadness in his own eyes.

"I don't want to leave." But there was no real conviction in the words, as if Tim knew he was going to leave anyway.

Mulder's chest started to ache."Where does that leave us?"

"I don't know." Shaking his head, Tim held out his hand. "I want...."

Sitting down next to Tim, he took it the offered hand, holding it tightly, grateful for the comfort of the touch. "What?"

"I want this to work, but I don't know how to make it happen."

"Me either." Leaning over he kissed Tim softly, not in passion, but returning the comfort. There were things they should say to each other, he knew that, yet he couldn't find the words. Soon, maybe, but not now.

Tim pulled away, repeating the question Mulder had asked.. "Where does that leave us?"

There still wasn't an answer anywhere that he knew how to give. Mulder shook his head.

With a sigh, Tim leaned forward, sliding his arms gently around Mulder's shoulders, pulling him close. "I..." He stared, but couldn't seem to find the words. He laid his head on Mulder's shoulder. "I... need more from this than I'm getting."

Shuddering as Tim's warm breath floated by his neck, Mulder nodded. "Okay. But I don't know how."

"Have you ever had a lasting relationship?" Tim raised his head, waiting for an answer.

The few relationships that he'd had turned out to be pretty short. He'd never been able to sustain a relationship with anyone other than Scully. And now Tim. "Is that what you want?"

"I want more than I'm getting. I don't want a casual fuck. I'm too old to pretend I don't care anymore." Tim dropped his eyes, almost as if he expected to be scolded for the sentiment.

Mulder had to be honest, but the truth frightened him. "I am not sure I know how to do anything else."

Taking a deep shuddering breath, Tim stood. "Okay. Then I'm going to go now, before I get in any deeper than I am now."

His heart started pounding as fear stunned him into action. He could not let Tim leave. "Don't! Please don't go. I don't want you to. I'll try and give you what you need, but I need to know what." The words tumbled out as he stood and reached out for Tim.

Meeting his eyes, Tim gaze was direct and troubled. "I need to know about you. I've known you for three months, been with you nearly every weekend and sometimes during the week, and I know almost nothing about you personally."

"What do you want to know?" How much could he say? What would knowing the truth do to Tim? What would losing Tim do to him? He didn't want to find out. Sitting down heavily at the table he turned his eyes towards Tim, hoping for a question he could answer.

"More than I do right now." That told him exactly nothing. Tim could be dammed evasive when he tried. But at least Tim sat down next to him.

Mulder sighed again. "That's not helpful. If you ask me a question, I'll answer it."

"That's just the problem. I don't know the questions, because, despite the fact that I sleep with you once or twice a week, I don't _know_ you." The exasperation in Tim's quiet voice told him how frustrated his lover was, but if Tim got to know him, would he stay around?

Mulder shook his head. He wasn't sure he wanted to open himself up to Tim. There were enough things to say to at least partially satisfy his lover, but eventually he would have to give up a real part of himself. He wasn't all that sure what he could. Losing Tim would hurt, but opening up to anyone was nearly impossible. "I'm very bad at this sort of thing. I've never been able to open up to anyone -- except Scully."

There was absolutely no surprise at his statement. In fact, Tim seemed to be anticipating it. "Maybe she should be here, not me."

Another shudder ran though him. He really didn't want to drag Scully into this conversation. "No. Scully is my partner."

"And you can't screw your partner?" Tim crossed his arms over his chest, giving Mulder a skeptical look.

Mulder shook his head. "Not Scully."

"Why not?"

"I don't want to feel that way about her."

"You don't want to, or you don't? There's a difference."

"Not really." But Mulder knew the truth, his friendship with Scully was beyond anything he'd ever known in his life. It was far too precious to risk for anything, especially for something as chancy as a romantic relationship.

"Trust me on this, there _is_ a difference." Something said Tim was far too knowing on this subject.

Remembering every conversation he'd had with Tim about _his_ partner, an idea clicked in Mulder's mind. There hadn't been many times they'd talked about Frank Pembleton, but the few were enough for Mulder to make an educated guess about the way Tim might feel about his partner. He wondered if Tim knew. "I guess you would know about that?"

"What are you talking about?" Tim whispered, turning pale.

"How about the way you feel about _your_ partner?" Maybe he could get Tim to talk about it. But anything that would get him off the subject of Scully would go a long way towards easing Mulder's mind. There was too much potential for damage talking about him and Scully.

Trying to evade the subject, Tim took a trick from him. "We were talking about you and Scully." Mulder wasn't surprised by the evasion tactic. He'd used it often enough himself to avoid anything that came too close or potentially could hurt too badly. And this conversation had already gone too deep and hit too many tender nerve endings as it was, especially around his heart.

"Now, we're talking about you and Frank." More than a little curious about Tim's partner, he wasn't sure forcing that issue would work with Tim, but he felt compelled to try anyway.

"Let's not." Tim closed his eyes, as if to shut out the topic as well as the sight.

"Okay. Let's not talk about me and Scully, either." They should both back off and leave things at the status quo. That would be for the best, even if it would leave them back where they started.

Tim sighed. "This is the problem. Neither of us wants to talk about anything to do with ourselves."

Mulder's anxiety level jumped again. He did _not_ want to do this. "This isn't anything. This is deeply personal."

Tim snorted. "And sex with you isn't."

"Not as much as this is." Mulder _knew_ this kind of exchange was a hundred times more intimate and dangerous than sex.

"If I tell you the truth, will you tell me?" Tim made it sound easy. Like a child's game, but it wasn't.

Still, he was afraid to say no. Afraid that he was too close to losing Tim on this and maybe everything else. "Fine."

"Yes."

"Yes? Yes, what?"

A small smile lit Tim's face. "Yes, I love Frank, dearly."

"But are you _in_ love with him?" That was the real question.

After a long pause, Tim shook his head. "I don't know. I hope not, but I've never examined my feelings for him too closely because I really didn't want to know the truth." As Tim's eyes dropped, Mulder thought he saw the truth in the soft brown depths, but the second passed before he could know for sure. And like Tim, he wasn't sure he wanted to know, either.

Mulder nodded. "Okay."

Tim raised an eyebrow at him and Mulder knew the moment of make or break had arrived. Taking a deep breath he reached for the truth inside himself and astonishingly, he found it. "I love Scully. I don't want to be in love with her. I think that to get involved with her would destroy both of us."

"I can understand that."

Looking at him, he knew they had passed some invisible barrier and from now on things would be a little different for them. Whether they would move on from here into a deeper relationship, he could not say, but for the first time in a long time, Mulder thought that he wanted that. Leaning forward, he pressed his mouth to Tim's before his lover could say anything further.

Responding gently, Tim molded his mouth to Mulder's, kissing him over and over in soft little kisses, that spoke of other feelings aside from lust and passion. For a long time they sat at his dining room table and kissed. Eventually, the kisses became deeper, more passionate and soon, out of control.

Mulder ended up on his back, with his sweat pants around one ankle, his legs over Tim's shoulders, being fucked for all he was worth. Surrendering to Tim completely, he rode out the storm of their lust, delighting in the sensations his lover produced in him. God, he loved it wild and out of control.

With a deep groan of pleasure, Tim collapsed over him, breathing jagged and rough. Pushing up, Tim pulled gently out of him. He couldn't help the groan. Being fucked twice in twenty-four hours left him raw and sore.

"Sorry." Tim rubbed his flank. "Are you okay? Did I hurt you?"

"No. I'm fine." Mulder rearranged his legs, trying to sit up. A sharp pain shot across his back, and he winced.

"You don't look fine. Let me take a look?"

Mulder snorted. "You don't know what you're looking for."

"I recognize blood when I see it."

"I'll bet." Mulder muttered to himself, pushing into a standing position. "I'm fine, Tim. I'm going to the bathroom. I'll let you know if there are any problems."

* * *

Tim watched him walk away wearing only his sweatshirt. Mulder looked so cute with his ass peeking out the bottom of the shirt. A couple of minutes later, he heard the shower come on. He smiled, Mulder probably needed some company. He wouldn't want him go get lonely all by himself. Standing and stripping off the rest of his clothes, he padded down the hall to join his lover.

"I was wondering when you were going to get here." Mulder smiled at him, looking like an adorable drowned puppy. The dark hair was matted to Mulder's head and water ran in wide rivulets over the lush naked body. Tim licked his suddenly dry lips. Mulder was so beautiful.

Stepping in, he stood under the warm water for a moment with his eye closed. "I got here as fast as I could." He murmured, pulling Mulder into his arms. He ran a hand down the wet back, cupping the round buttocks. "Are you okay?"

Mulder kissed him. "Yeah, I'm fine. I told you I was."

"Just making sure."

"Okay."

Kissing him again, Mulder's soapy hands started up his chest, teasing his nipples along the way. Tiny tendrils of pleasure jumped in him at the touch and he leaned into it, encouraging his lover.

Tim loved to play in the shower, loved to make love in the shower too. But that was probably out for a while, he wasn't sure he could get it up again.

"I think it might be a while before I can do it again," he said regretfully as Mulder continued to play with his chest, finding the three hairs he had managed to grow and pulling on them. "Don't pull those out, I might not get anymore."

Mulder's eyes lit with mischief. "Yeah, they grow back."

"Don't pull anyway." He tried to bat his lover's hand away, but Mulder held on.

"Why not."

He gave the hair another tiny tweak, not really painful, but a sharp sensation that Tim didn't find overly unpleasant.

"I don't like pain."

Mulder licked his nipple, sending a spike of pleasure into his chest. "I've noticed that about you."

"Do you?"

"Do I what?" Mulder was definitely not paying attention to the conversation at hand and he was doing his best to distract Tim too. But this was another important question.

"Like pain? Like to be hurt?"

Focusing on him at last, Mulder looked appalled. "No. I have enough of it in my life without going out and finding someone to inflict more."

That was a relief. He knew himself well enough to know he'd never be able to hurt anyone for pleasure, even if they wanted it. There weren't many limits on his sexual plate right now, but that was definitely one of them. "Good."

"Now pleasure...."

Knowing hands moved slowly down his back to his buttocks, then between his cheeks. A cool wet finger slid down the crease to press against the opening to his body. Tim shuddered, moving against it, but was still a little tender from before. "I don't think I can yet."

"It's okay." the finger slid in a little more. "I'm just playing. I like the feel of you."

Tim squirmed on it, sighing. The soreness combined with the pleasure started that hazy bliss that Mulder's touch always brought to him. With regret, Tim pulled back. "Water's getting cold. Let's get out of here."

"Bed?"

What better way to spend a Sunday morning? "Yeah."

* * *

Scully hung up the phone, and sighed. Mulder wanted her to join him and his lover for dinner tonight. She wasn't at all sure about seeing them again so soon after the debacle this morning. Could anything have been more embarrassing? Actually she could think of a few things, and most of them concerned her partner.

It hadn't been a surprise about Mulder's choice of bed companion, she'd known he was bisexual for a long time. He'd actually made a point of telling her within the first few months of their partnership. It had always stood as another point of trust between them, showing her how much he trusted her.

Dana had been pretty sure the person he'd been seeing for the last couple of months had been a man. But of course, Mulder hadn't said anything and she hadn't wanted to pry by asking.

No, what had surprised her, startled the hell out of her, was that she found the sight of them together so arousing. Her heart had raced, and her flushed face hadn't only been from embarrassment.

They looked so damned good together. So sexy. In that first second after she'd seen them, a hundred details jumped out at her, but the thing that caught her eye first had been the way their fingers were linked together. The tenderness of that spoke loudly of their relationship even if they didn't know it themselves and after talking to Mulder, Scully thought that both of them were oblivious to it.

Which was too bad. Mulder needed someone in his life aside from her. And she too, needed someone, but as long as Mulder needed her, she wasn't going to have a chance to meet anyone else. Maybe he and his lover would be able to work out how they felt. Men were so difficult sometimes.

With another deep sigh, she went to get dressed for tonight's little dinner.

"Hi," Tim said, answering the door to her knock. His ivory cheeks were tinged with a tiny bit of pink. He was even better looking dressed, Dana decided, giving him a quick once-over. And taller than Mulder. She generally liked tall men, which always puzzled her since she was so short.

"Hi, I'm Dana Scully."

"Tim Bayliss."

They shook hands awkwardly. "It's good to meet you." And then she smiled at him. "Again."

His cheeks pinked even more. He was cute when he blushed. What was it about a man blushing that endeared him to a woman? "Yes."

"Mulder tells me you're a Baltimore cop?" She asked, as she followed him into the living room, taking a seat on the leather sofa, trying desperately not to think about what she'd seen here only a few hours ago.

"Homicide." There was a note of unmistakable pride in the detective's voice Dana envied. She wished she had as much pride in what she did. But at this point, she'd been doing her job for too long. She'd seen too much, knew too much, to feel any of the joy she might have once felt for her chosen career. Now she did her job grimly, because it had to be done.

Hearing the shower come on, she knew they would be alone for at least a couple of more minutes. "Tell me about your job." Hopefully that would be a nice safe subject.

Tim took the hint and told her a funny story or two about his unit. As the shower fell silent, so did Tim. "Mulder should be out in a second."

"I guess he wanted to give us a chance to meet?"

He shrugged his wide shoulders and grinned. "I'm not sure I understand his motivations all the time."

Scully smiled. "Me either."

"Hi Scully," Mulder called as he came into the room, dressed casually, with his hair still wet from his shower. "Ready for dinner."

"You're cooking?" She sniffed the air, for the first time noticing there were no scents of food coming from the kitchen. Surprised, first that she hadn't noticed sooner, and secondly she wondered what they were going to have for dinner.

Mulder smirked at her. "No. I thought we'd go out, you know, like grown-ups."

"Are you?" She asked, smiling back and standing.

"We can fake it." His glance took in Tim, who also smiled.

Scully laughed. "Sure. Let's go."

Dinner turned out to be surprisingly pleasant. Tim was charming and intelligent, making a fine dinner companion. His sense of humor seemed a perfect complement to Mulder's dry wit. And Scully liked Tim, understanding without a problem what her partner saw in him, even if Mulder himself didn't.

Still, she was glad to leave them at the end of the evening. Seeing the lovers together brought unwanted images of Tim and Mulder making love to her mind's eye and it was a thought she'd rather ignore. There was no one in her life to take care of the arousal that was sliding through her each time they touched each other. Not that there was anything sexual or overt about their contact, but she could see past it. And that was the problem.

Dana envied them their closeness.

* * *

Sitting on the leather sofa, they were watching the Redskins lose again. Mulder's head was in his lap, as Tim carded his fingers through the thick hair.

"That didn't go to badly, did it?" Mulder's voice held a note of uncertainty that worried Tim.

Tim smiled, shaking his head. "No. I liked her."

"I think she liked you too."

"Good." Turning toward him, Tim sighed. "And if she hadn't."

Mulder shook his head, a frown starting on the lush lips. "Don't ask that now. I don't know what I would have done."

Maybe they shouldn't go there yet. Tim was just starting to believe in this relationship and he didn't want anything to shake that belief just yet.

"When am I going to meet Frank?" Mulder asked after a few more minutes of silence.

"Let's definitely not go there." Shivering at the thought, Tim couldn't imagine it. Or perhaps he could, and that was the problem. He knew that Frank would take one look at them together and _know_ he and Mulder were lovers.

"Why? You've met my partner. I want to meet yours." A tiny whine crept into Mulder's tone that would have been endearing if he thought of his lover meeting his partner wasn't so terrifying.

"I don't have the same kind of relationship with Frank that you have with Dana."

"Frank doesn't care about you?"

"No. He does. But he has a problem with showing it. He likes to keep things separate. We were partners for three years before I ever saw the inside of his house and that was to visit Livvy after she was born."

"Oh. But you babysit for him." Mulder sounded really disappointed, like he really thought he'd get to meet Frank. Well, it was possible they might meet, it just wasn't very likely right now.

"Yeah. I think that's to show that he really does trust me." Frank could well afford the service of a reputable babysitter, but his partner knew how much Tim loved those kids and babysitting them was such fun. He did it nearly once a month or had until Mulder entered his life.

"Maybe the next time you baby sit, I'll come down with you."

Tim thought about that for a second. Frank would know they were lovers, but would his partner care? While he was sure that Frank wasn't prejudiced, he didn't have a clue as to how he would react to having him and Mulder babysit his kids. It was not like they would _do_ anything at Frank's house, but you never knew how people would react.

He sighed. "I don't know."

"You think Frank would have a problem with your having a male lover?"

"You know, I'm not sure how he would take it. I don't _think_ he's going to have a problem with it, but who knows. Can we talk about this later?'

Leaning down, Tim pressed his mouth against Mulder's.

"Yeah. What would you like to talk about?"

With some quick shifting around, Mulder was stretched out beneath him. "Nothing?" Tim thrust down, pressing his hardening cock against his lovers.

"Oh, yeah." Mulder shimmied out of his pants and underwear, while Tim unbuttoned first his own shirt and then Mulder's.

Leisurely, he and Mulder moved against each other, just enjoying the simple contact. Pleasure came in a slow steady climb that ended with a gentle, pleasing orgasm for both of them. Contented and drowsy, Tim held his lover close, breathing in the sex-rich scent of sweaty skin.

He didn't know where this relationship would go, but he wanted to stick with it. Mulder was starting to mean a lot to him.

With a sigh, he warned himself not to doze off, but ignored his own warning. If they didn't set the alarm clock, he'd be late for work tomorrow morning. Not for the first time either. His eyes closed and tightened his arms around Mulder. Oh hell, what was one more night on the couch?

\--finis   
February 1999


End file.
